Trump Today: Trump Today: President says Congress can name border wall ‘peaches’ as he backs away from quick emergency declaration

President Donald Trump hosts a discussion on border security with state, local and community leaders at the White House.

President Donald Trump said Friday he’s not planning on declaring a national emergency over border security immediately, and urged lawmakers to negotiate with him as the partial government shutdown tied for the longest on record.

NOT SO FAST ON EMERGENCY

Trump again said he had the right to declare an emergency to fund his border wall, but said, “I’m not going to do it so fast” as he held a roundtable at the White House with state and local officials.

The president’s comments come as he’s getting conflicting messages about such a declaration, with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley saying it would set a “bad precedent” and Sen. Lindsey Graham urging him to take the step “now.” Both are Republicans.

Opinion: Congressional Republicans have a role model in their game of chicken over emergency powers.

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Trump said he wanted Congress to return to Washington and vote for funding a wall or steel barrier, adding he didn’t care what they call it. “They can name it peaches,” he said.

The president and Democrats are at an impasse over border security, which has led to a partial shutdown that’s now three weeks old. Still, Trump said he’d sign a bill giving federal employees back pay, after it was passed by the GOP-controlled Senate and Democratic House. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called Trump’s proposed border wall “an immorality.”

Read: The government shutdown is set to become the longest on record, assuming it’s still going at midnight.

Also see: Republican senators roll out bill that would end all future shutdowns.

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